Dubai: Some 2,000 years ago, the ancient Arabs of Nabataea settled in prehistoric Jordan and established a rose-coloured city as their trading centre in the desert. Fast-forward to present day, Petra is an archaeological site – a three-hour drive from Amman, Jordan’s capital – whose ruins still largely remain undiscovered. At Expo 2020 Dubai, visitors will have the opportunity to rediscover the lost city of Petra through a sensory experience.
Gateway to Petra
Participating under the theme of ‘The thresholds of ingenuity’, the Jordan Pavilion, designed by German creative agency Facts and Fiction, will invite visitors to uncover its rich past and learn of its current endeavours in technology.
Flanked by abstract towering canyons, visitors will step into the pavilion through a gorge reminiscent of Al Siq, Petra’s one-kilometre sinuous entryway to the city.
After bouts of destructive earthquakes and repeated conquests, Petra was lost to the world for centuries until 1812. Once home to around 30,000 citizens, the metropolis was voted as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in a global voting campaign launched by Bernard Weber in 2007.
Once they clear the dim, narrow path, they will be greeted by a poetic media installation on Jordanian landscapes and cultural heritage.
Are you ready to witness poetry in motion at the Jordan Pavilion?
- The writer is an intern with Gulf News.
